Water shortage hits 5L saplings

Pimpri Chinchwad: Water scarcity is beginning to take a severe toll on nearly five lakh saplings planted in the forest areas of Khed, Purandar, Daund, Baramati and Indapur talukas in the Pune district and some talukas in Solapur. Vivek Khandekar, the chief conservator of forests, Pune division, said, “At the beginning of the monsoon, the forest department had conducted a massive tree plantation drive and had also constructed loose boulder structures (LBS), contour bunds and small check dams to store rainwater and prevent soil erosion. However, this year, there has been no rain during the retreating phase of the monsoon. As a result, the saplings have started to dry up.”

He said the department is currently watering the plants using makeshift drip irrigation systems fashioned out of one-litre bottles. “We have also installed solar water pumps to fill up the artificial waterholes at three places in the Kadbanwadi forest area in Indapur taluka. A company has provided the plastic water tanks that are used to store water. These tanks act as artificial waterholes,” Khandekar said. Overall, the forest department has created 500 artificial waterholes to provide water for animals. The department has also sought help from environmentalists, NGOs, industrialists and philanthropists to provide water tankers or at least bear the expenditure of the tankers needed to water the saplings. Mahesh Bhavsar, the assistant conservator of forests, Pune division, said, “Industries, NGOs or other organisations can adopt forest patches and take the responsibility of providing water for the plants and animals there.” Citizens can also volunteer to water the saplings in forest areas near their homes, said Khandekar.